the hum / By Bob Doran

It’s just Reggae (a river runs through it)

There’s a shrill chorus still insisting they hold the moral high-ground and that the festival was “stolen.” Some of them are my friends and a lot of them are skipping this year’s Reggae. The Mateelites scored a minor victory by getting local FM station KMUD to drop plans for it’s longstanding coffee booth fundraiser. A group calling itself Reggae Uprising is planning protests for Reggae weekend, including a flotilla on the river through the festival grounds. Their slogan — “The Party is the Protest” — suggests that they don’t want to miss out on the fun, either. I’ll try to catch up with them down by the riverside.

That’s right, I’ll be at Reggae. There’s some good music, if you like reggae: several Marley boys, Steel Pulse , Anthony B , Sly and Robbie and my Humboldt homies, Ishi Dube and Massagana and Sub/Sab , to name a few. Interested? It starts Friday, runs ’til Sunday. For the first time in years you’ll be able to buy a ticket at the gate — officially. Maybe I’ll see you there. If not, please don’t hold it against me. Partying’s part of my job.

Now if I wasn’t going to Reggae, I’d definitely be at the Alibi Saturday Aug. 4, to see the “Fourth and Final Annual Last Show Ever, Ever” by Arcata’s all-time greatest, greatest Judas Priest tribute band, Sad Wings of Destiny — and I don’t even know any J. Priest songs. If I remember, I’ll try to tune in 94.1 FM on Friday at noon when Jen Savage welcomes SWOD to the KSLG studio. Opening the Alibi show, Thee L.A. Gentlemen Callers , who dropped me a line the other day asking if I might plug the gig. Sure. Calixto notes, “We fell in love with Arcata the first time my friend Jensen Rufe invited us to come up and have since come to be friends with a number of the kick-ass bands in the area, most recently hosting a mini-tour in SoCal with The Ravens (their first shows outside of Humboldt, I believe) which was a blast!” Thee Gents’ll be on KSLG too, on Monica ’s show Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.

And speaking of Jensen Rufe (the Rural Rock guy) he’s up from L.A. Friday for a show at the Jambalaya with his new band, Men’s Fashions , which is Dana and Aaron from The Sharpies (plus Jensen). I learned this from Julia , the fine singer from The Broken Hearts . Her band is playing, and her sweet former bandmates, The Ian Fayes , are on the bill, too, plus that kick ass power trio Dynamite Sweater .

While the SWOD final show ever, ever biz is tongue-in-cheek, The Weary Boys are serious. The formerly local Texas-transplant twangers are on their way to some Pickathon thing up in Oregon, stopping at the Jam Saturday then working their way back to Austin, where they’ll part ways forever — well, maybe.

My plan for Tuesday evening after I’m back from Reggae is to de-reggify myself with a brisk blast of gypsy jazz as presented by the John Jorgenson Quintet . The awesomely fast and clean guitarist Jorgenson has an impressive resumé: He founded the folk rockin’ Desert Rose Band with Chris Hillman, played with The Helecasters and did a six-year stint with Elton John before focusing on his true passion, the Django sound. Is there fiddle? You bet. I’m so there.

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